Strange Objects
by pan-chan5
Summary: n_nU so many great fantasy au's for gravi out at the moment i just had to try
1. Default Chapter

Small and lucky to be given the name 'village' let alone 'town', but then for this part of the world it would have been considered a metropolis. A den of filth and ignorance. But even dens of filth and ignorance looked good after sleeping so many nights on the ground.  
  
As to be expected in a town with a port the place was strife with taverns and brothels and not much else to recommend it. The least unsavory inn is where our travelers found themselves shortly (though one might have their doubts in this regard since the inn could boast little more than its proximity to the town's church).  
  
It was disturbing really, letting the bartender fawn over them with his weak ale and day old sweetbreads, but Eiri had absolutely refused to stay with the church, and Mika had refused another days travel without a bath. Had she known this would be the place bathing was to be had, she would certainly have been more than willing to, as her charming husband had put it, 'rough it out' a few more days.  
  
"Tohma, this is no inn at all! 'Tis a hovel! Wretched hovel!" She complained indignantly, resolving never to accompany her husband and brother on one of these little 'adventures' again. Damn Tohma for allowing Eiri to do this! He should be home with father, not gallivanting around the countryside, of all things determined to become a bard!  
  
"Eiri, watch your purse strings less that tall-fellow set his sights on them." Indicated Ryu, gesturing toward the hooded figure lurking in the doorway. He was curse-addled and spent much of his time talking with a stuffed animal he claimed was his familiar, but he still had moments of coherency which Eiri knew better than to ignore.  
  
Watching through the corner of his eye, less his watcher notice, Eiri noted the lad had set his eyes upon himself! It was . . . amusing and insulting at the same time.  
  
"He's terribly good." Remarked Tohma, noticing the object of Eiri's attention. "He called you straight away, Eiri. "  
  
"Leave him Tohma, you know he will not learn until he has been robbed by every ruffian between here and Candle Keep.  
  
Eiri, was, of course, mortified. Even Mika, who had the least experience travelling, had yet to be robbed, and in the true tradition of ladies of class, she wasted no time in rubbing salt in his wounds with the matter.  
  
Eiri brooded into his ale, watching the boy who was now walking animatedly with Ryu. An impressive feat in itself since the rabbit didn't usually talk to strangers. At least Eiri thought it was a boy. He'd presumed it was a halfling too at first, albeit a tall one with elven features, uncommon but not rare in these area's bordering forests . . . not to mention ports tended to be hubs for anyone or thing unusual. He was reconsidering however since the lad was far too slender and had that energy about him attributed to youth.  
  
Ryu had been conned into singing (not that it took much to convince him). The boy looked on with wonder in his eyes at the man as he started to sing, attracting far more attention than Eiri had wished for. Not that it mattered, since it was still far less than Mika's petticoats and lace attracted from the women since they'd never seen such as fine. Naturally Mika allowed them to admire.  
  
"He's quite captivated by Ryu's song, Eiri, don't you think now would be a good time to reclaim your coin?"  
  
~*~**~*~**~***~***~****  
  
"What he is, Tohma, is in need of a good bathing." Tsked Mika rubbing at the soot blacked hair of their captive. Though bathing was Mika's answer to everything since she had discovered the 'joys' of adventuring. "I quite blame you for this whole affair."  
  
Tohma nodded morosely. He should have realized Eiri would have been less than impressed after the ribbing he'd received, and jump the poor boy - who mistook Eiri for an Aasimar by his unusual eyes and started screaming. Luckily Tohma had been on hand (not to mention that iron poker by the firs place) and knocked the brat unconscious before he could create much of a scene - raised voices and pointed fingers tended to get people like themselves in trouble (however knocking strangers over the head and hauling them off to your rooms was quite commonplace).  
  
"Will he be all right?" Asked Kumagarou. Which is to say Ryu said it, Kumagarou was a cursed item Ryu had picked up somewhere which deluded the Harper into believing it was his travelling companion. Strangely the compulsion was a high level one, making separating Ryu and Kuma for even short periods of time difficult. Tohma had often mused this was some high- level enchanters idea of a joke. Apart from the minor intimidation factor of a grown man talking to a stuffed animal, there seemed to be no benefit to carrying the thing.  
  
Eiri snorted.  
  
"He's a thief!"  
  
"Eiri!" Snapped Mika, rolling her eye's at the blonde. "He's just a boy!"  
  
"Do you suppose he cleans fireplaces?" Queried Tohma, who was watching the cloth come away black from their sooty captive.  
  
"He is quite pale beneath the dirt! Not at all what I expected!" Commented Mika. "And look! His hair colour is quite unusual!"  
  
"It's a Dryad!" Squealed Ryu excited. Kumagarou always wanted to see a Dryad!  
  
"Dryads are girls!" Complained the groggy captive, batting away Mika's hands which were determined to see him clean. Not that he had anything against 'clean', just pink-haired thieves tended to be far too memorable. "I'm not a girl!" He clarified when no one looked convinced. Besides, he wasn't a Dryad, he'd come to that conclusion quick enough after trying to walk through tree's failed and the only response he got when talking to plants were weird looks from other people. "So . . . " Shuichi gestured vaguely. "I am alive because . . . ?" Should have known better, obviously a trap, from the guy practically begging to be robbed to the Harper who'd charmed him. All set up to catch him 'cos they sure wouldn't catch any other thief with a stuffed rabbit.  
  
"He's cute! Let's keep him!" Decided Mika.  
  
"You can't just keep people!" Declared Shuichi crossing his arms over his chest, completely ignoring the fact that the inn they were currently in did a roaring slave trade.  
  
"Well we can hire him! To protect Eiri!" After all, who better to look out for her ignoramus of a brother than another thief?  
  
Shuichi looked at Tohma suspiciously. Shuichi was no fighter, so he wondered what possible need for a bodyguard of his caliber this man could need.  
  
"Not me." Responded Tohma to the inquisitively raised eyebrow. "Him." He pointed to Eiri who was still scowling on the far side of the room.  
  
Well that made a lot more sense. Mr' rob-me-please-I'm-hideously-rich-and- the-weight-of-my-purse-encumbers-me' needed all the help he could get. "You need help!" He nodded sagely. Now that he was in close quarters and not full of adrenaline at being jumped, he was fairly sure the guy wasn't an Aasimar after all - not 100% sure, but he was still alive. The last and only Aasimar he had met had tried to kill him on sight, so Shuichi was willing to gamble the point.  
  
**~~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~**~**~**~  
  
A job! A real job! As a bodyguard (of sorts) of all things! Shuichi didn't even need to pack; he did after all have everything he owned on himself already. A real job and a real quest! Kekekekeke. Now if only he could get rid of this nagging feeling he'd forgotten something.  
  
**~~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~**~**~**~  
  
Shuichi no baka!  
  
Shuichi, having missed meeting him the night before, had last been seen in the company of a group of travelers headed out of town. Hiro could only begin to wonder what sort of trouble the idiot had got himself into this time. With a resolve born of a sense of duty for his partner, friend (and occasional pet) he made his way towards the city gates. 


	2. 2

"Don't you have a family or something to go home to? And don't call me Eiri."  
  
"Nope!" Cheered Shuichi, who didn't really associate Hiro so much as a 'family' or even 'friend' so much as 'furniture', so had in fact not associated his companion with the question. "Ano. . . Master?"  
  
"Don't call me that either!" Demanded Eiri.  
  
"What should I call you then?" Asked Shuichi, exasperated.  
  
Shuichi was perplexed. He wasn't to call him Eiri, like Tohma and Mika did. He wasn't to call him Master. Difficult. The problem could have been solved simply if Eiri would just say what he wanted to be called. But he wouldn't (actually because Eiri hadn't decided when he started his little tirade). SO Shuichi, who could be stubborn if he wanted (he'd just never tried before, yeah, that was it) wasn't about to ask.  
  
Eiri just looked on with those cold, cold eyes. Which was funny really, mused Shuichi, because gold was supposed to be such a warm colour. Ah! That was it!  
  
"Yuki!" Declared Shuichi, pumping one fist in the air to emphasize the point. "YukiYukiYuki!!"  
  
Mika and Tohma turned to stare at Shuichi, horrified looks on their faces.  
  
"Shuichi?" Asked Tohma nervously. "Where did you hear that name?"  
  
"Snow! It means snow, right?" Tehehe. It was the perfect name 'cause snow was cold and Eiri was cold! Perfect! Perfect! "Some guy tried to buy me once and Hiro hit him real good and his name was Yuki! Hiro, tell them! Tell them!" Finally, Shuichi's brain caught up with what he had just said. Shuichi chose that exact moment to panic, as Hiro wasn't there.  
  
"You can call me Yuki." Nodded Eiri, detaching Tohma and Mika's horrified looks form the brat to himself.  
  
"Eiriiiii! I don't want to call you Yuki anymore, that guy was creepy!" Denied Shuichi, shaking his head.  
  
"Yuki." Corrected Eiri, rustling the boys' already messy hair with a small smile. It was the first time Shuichi had seen Eiri smile, so it's effects were devastating, causing the boy to both shutup and blush AND completely forget about Hiro. As fate would have it, Tohma and Mika were too shocked to remember much of what was going on, and Ryuichi was in fact not present, having gone to relieve himself behind a tree, entrusting Kumagarou to Shuichi for this small reprieve.  
  
Kumagarou liked Shuichi. Which was rather surprising since Kumagarou disliked everyone except Ryu. But then the two were very similar in mannerisms, so it wasn't entirely unexpected (if one ignored the fact it was a stuffed rabbit and should really have no preference at all). Tohma had tentatively asked if Kumagarou disliked everyone in a 'kill-them-all-in- their-sleep' way, but whatever answer Ryu had given had satisfied him enough to bring Ryu with them. Hopefully when they reached Candle Keep they'd be able to commission someone to remove the enchantment. This had to be kept quiet, since Kumagarou would not be happy if he found out the true nature of their quest. Failing that, it'd be another 4 or 5 days travel to Baldur's Gate.  
  
Despite appearances, Shuichi had been taking his job very seriously, keeping eye contact with every potential thief in the area. Deciding the target was safe enough now they were outside the gates, Shuichi decided to dedicate himself entirely to annoy. . . er . . . getting to know Eiri.  
  
"Ne? Ne? Yuki! Ryu is gonna teach me how to sing!" Chirped Shuichi enthusiastically wrapping his arm's around Eiri's waist. Eiri shrugged him off easily enough, with the horrified realization that meant listening to the kid trying to sing for the next 7-day. If the boys speaking voice was any indication it was likely to be a misery. "Isn't that great!" He screeched an octave higher.  
  
Eiri had presumed this was one of Mika's weird obsessions, she'd forget about the boy by the time they reached the gates. This was not working however. Mika's unnatural obsession with orphans combined with Shuichi who had taken to calling her 'nee-san' in imitation of himself which Mika found far too endearing to be dignified. In summary : the boy stayed.  
  
On the plus side he hadn't been robbed yet - which almost made up for the three times he'd been glomped in the last hour (almost).  
  
"Shuichi? How much is Mika paying you?" Suggested Eiri. He'd already tried rather tactlessly to fire the boy, but he had resolutely pointed out that Mika was his employer, and Eiri had no power to dismiss him.  
  
"5 gold pieces for a seven-day!" Declared the boy puffing out his chest proudly.  
  
"I have more than that in my purse right now . . . " Whispered Eiri conspiratorially, making Shuichi strain to hear him. If you robbed me and ran away I might not notice immediately . . . "  
  
The subtlety was lost on Shuichi who just looked confused at the suggestion. After a few moments of thinking (which looked rather painful) he asked seriously, "Yuki, are you trying to get rid of me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh." Tears started welling up in those unusual eyes and threatened to spill.  
  
"What? You're going to cry over a few gold pieces?" Interjected Eiri, switching to asshole mode.  
  
"It wasn't about the money!" Shuichi slapped his hand over his mouth as he realized it was true. It had been kinda nice to have a job and someone to protect. No one had ever asked him to protect anything before. "Mean!" Yelped Shuichi running into the forest.  
  
"Eiri. What did you say to Shuichi?" Asked Mika coming up behind the dejected Eiri.  
  
"Nothing." Replied Eiri. "He just ran away."  
  
"He'll be back soon!" Declared Ryu happily, despite predictions he would now be bawling his eyes out.  
  
"How can you be so sure?" Asked Mika.  
  
"Kumagarou never gets lost!" Exclaimed Ryu resolutely. It was true, there had been times when Kumagarou and Ryu had been separated, sometimes for days at a time, Ryu always just shrugged when people asked about Kuma's absence, claiming Kuma had business to attend to. Kuma was very secretive about his business - but then Kuma had lots of secrets. Ryu just hope Kuma's secret wasn't that he liked to eat people because Ryu kinda liked Shuichi. Ryu went to brood about this for a while.  
  
At Mika's insistence, they set up n the spot, just over to the side of the road, since she had outrightly declared she would not move an inch until they recovered the boy despite they were only a few miles from their main party, which had camped outside town. Namely Tohma's personal guard Kei, and Eiri and Mika's brother Tatsuha. Mika had decided Tatsuha needed to spend a little less time with Ryu, hence their current camping arrangement.  
  
***  
  
"What's that Kuma? You think I should go back?" Asked Shuichi. He could see the bunny nod his head even though he had cast darkness just minutes before, thanks to the amulet Hiro had given him. It had cost Hiro 1500GP, but Hiro said it was worth it if it kept him from breaking his neck every time he cast the spell accidentally. Not that he did that anymore! Only when he was scared and stuff! Maybe if Mika let him work for her for 6 years he could pay Hiro back! Speaking of Hiro, where was he? Now that Shuichi thought about it he hadn't seen him in over a day . . . ". . . ."  
  
"Yuki is mean!" Declared Shuichi, sticking his tongue out at the rabbit.  
  
". . . "  
  
"Ehhhhhhh. . . ? I do not!" He exclaimed, blushing furiously. Even if Yuki WAS rather sexy.  
  
". . . "  
  
"Well . . . maybe just a litt!!!" Shuichi was perhaps the only person in the area with fairy site, however he was so engrossed with his conversation with the rabbit he didn't notice someone casting daylight. Or even someone sneaking up. At least not until the sack came down over his head anyway.  
  
* * *  
  
One didn't spend the better part of their life training as a cleric for nothing. Alas, neither Tatsuha nor Kei stopped to wonder where Ryu had picked up darkness to begin with. Of course neither of them noticed it wasn't Ryu at all either, after all, who else of that approximate body size would be running around this particular par t of the forest talking to a stuffed, pink bunny?  
  
* * *  
  
Eiri couldn't believe a kid with so little travelling savvy could leave absolutely no trace as to where he had gone. True he was no tracker, but surely there should have been something. But then he was very small . . .  
  
"He's a thief, Eiri, he's used to making a clean get away." Tutted Mika. "Ah. . . must you scare away all of my employees?" She moaned dramatically.  
  
With Mika, it was definitely a case of, 'out of sight, out of mind' and she was already eager to make camp. Given the late hour, Tohma decided it was best they stay where they were rather than try to meet with the others that night. Truthfully he was a little concerned about what might happen if Ryu thought they were abandoning Kumagarou as well.  
  
Curiously enough, during Eiri's watch he met an elf. In the way of elves he said nothing, poked around their camp a bit, and left shortly. Eiri was perhaps a little put out by this behavior, but as the elf had neither harmed nor hindered them, happy to let it pass. Whatever he was looking for, he didn't find it at any rate.  
  
Come morning, he wasn't entirely convinced he hadn't dreamt the encounter. Packing up camp, they made their way towards where they knew the others to be camped, hoping to join them for breakfast. Finally coming into the small clearing they had a reunion, and not the one they expected.  
  
"Ohayo!" Cheered Shuichi enthusiastically around a mouthful of beans. "Look! Look! I'm a prisoner!" 


End file.
